Hearts
by AstroTurtle
Summary: It has all been a matter of that organ these days. The Heartless. The ‘Organization XIII’ eagerly cheering Sora’s reaping of those hearts. That silvered haired angel. And Cloud’s recent disappearance.


Adult themes are to follow in later chapters.  
Don't like shounen-ai? Don't read. :[

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_Hearts._

It has all been a matter of that organ these days.

The Heartless

The 'Organization XIII' eagerly cheering Sora's reaping of those hearts.

That silvered haired angel.

And Cloud's recent disappearance.

Ever since he'd heard from Tifa that the blonde warrior had jettisoned into the atmosphere along with Sephiroth, he had felt a sudden cavity in his chest. He had been with Yuffie, holding off the heartless from the marketplace at the time, having his own share of troubles, yet, he felt like he should have _been there_. _Done something to help._

Gently shaking the negative thoughts from his head, he refolded his arms, feebly attempting to catch onto the end of Merlin's sentence.

"-By that time we should have the alcove at the bailey restored, which will make it much easier to access the Restoration site, alright?"

Everyone, nodding they're conformation, filed out of the door, striking conversations with one another. Leon slightly tensed as he felt a soft, dainty hand on his shoulder, relaxing with a sigh as he gave Aerith a meek look.

"Leon, what's wrong? You seem to be distant today…"

His gaze turned skyward, head gently shaking from side to side.

"I-Its nothing Aerith. I'm fine."

His stride continued forward, eyes remaining fixated above. Aerith, allowing her hand to fall from his shoulder, refused to wash the concern away from her face. She would get to the bottom of it later.

Yuffie gave a hefty sigh, gazing down at the collapsed walls bitterly, having been reduced to rubble from all the relentless attacks.

"We're never going to get this done!" She whined, falling backwards onto her bottom and huffing.

"Well, no-one else is gonna do it, so we'd better get a move on!"

Cid jumped down to the bottom of the cliff, picking up the smaller pieces of boulder and hoisting them into a nearby pile.

"If we group 'em up by size, and get Leonhart there to chop 'em up a bit, then we have brand new bricks, and no reason to get so worked up."

Cid clambered to the top of his make-shift mountain, harshly clapping his hands together, the cliffs around them reverberating the sound and making it a few times louder.

"Move, move, move!"

Leon gave an inaudible chuckle as he descended into the alleyway, drawing his gunblade from its snug position at his hip and began hacking and slicing through the weakened stone.

He was particularly grateful for his job on this particular project, it gave him time to think, just _why_ had Cloud affected him in such a way?

The rivalry hadn't been fierce, more of a…friendly competition. He had admired the other male's strength and his agility, especially as he handled such a hefty sword. The skill as he swung it about, well, he'd always supposed there was none. Thinking only becoming a berserker and hacking aimlessly was the trick. But, Cloud had showed him otherwise. The tact he put into every swing, the sweeping movements of the immense buster sword, it was a wonder on those occasions where you could actually watch Cloud fighting with his sword, causing his arm muscles to tighten and relax, the beads of sweat trickling down his flushed, tan skin. Calling out his name for help after the mass of battle, with such longing, loneliness in his eyes…`Leon…Leon…'

**"Leon!"  
**  
Leon flinched and quickly snapped out of his daze, his eyes darting to look at a very frustrated Yuffie.

"Leon! Stop swinging at butterflies, and toss me a few of those bricks, would ya?"

Slightly humiliated, Leon holstered his blade and picked up one of the bricks he had cut with amateur skill, an almost disgusted look on his features.

"We can't use these Yuffie." Slowly shaking his head, he closed his fist around the rock, causing it to crack and chip. "If I can damage this rock with just my fist, then the continuous heartless attacks will bring down our hard work in no time at all."

Everyone halted their actions and watched Leon, proudly ascending the stairs.

"I suggest we postpone the rebuilding of the alcove and work on strengthening the existing walls. Who knows when they're going to collapse, especially seeming as the heartless activity around here has been getting more frequent."

Mumbling in agreement, the restoration committee hastily made their ascent towards the borough to tell Merlin of the bad news. Leon stopped in his tracks as he felt a shadow over him, turning to see the sky wasn't its usual orange and purple, it had abruptly dusted over with deep grey.

Giving his usual casual wave after explaining his plans, Leon cautiously wondered out onto the steps, his eyes fixated on the suspiciously darkening atmosphere.  
The sky above him thundered continuously, sending a white bolt cascading towards him. Only just managing to leap out of the way, he lanced his weapon into the ground, protecting himself from most of the debris.

Leon peered from his crouched position on the floor, retrieving his blade from the crumbling floor. The dust in the air began to settle, and his attention diverted to the hole itself. He winced as he looked down at the sizable crater, Cid and Yuffie would definitely _not_ appreciate that.

Continuing his studies, Leon's eyes caught onto blonde spikes. His breath hitched.

"Cloud!"

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Reviews and **constructive **criticism is encouraged! :D


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